Public presentations for Capital District casinos expected to take place around, after Labor Day

ALBANY >> Oral presentations from the various casino applicants are expected to be given for the local proposals around or after Labor Day, officials said.

The five projects in the Capital District include those in Amsterdam/Florida, Rensselaer, East Greenbush, Schenectady, and Howe Caverns.

The process included written proposals which were delivered in late June and public presentations will be given any time after July 21.

Lee Park with the state Gaming Commission said that none of the local casinos have scheduled presentations yet, which will be open to the public to attend in person or via webcast. He expected that the majority of presentations will be given after Labor Day.

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While representatives for the respective casinos all said that they had not yet scheduled a presentation, they said that they planned to do so around or after Labor Day.

“We are looking forward to having the opportunity to present our case, and highlight the many strengths of our proposal,” said Ryan Moses, the spokesman for the Howe Caverns casino proposal.

According to the state Gaming Commission’s website, the state is expected to announce the casino locations in the early fall.

Meanwhile, on Monday, a leading credit rating firm released a pessimistic report regarding the future of revenue generated by gaming.

Fitch Ratings cited several reasons for its bearish outlook on casino gambling, including saturation across regional markets, stagnant wages among the lower tier players, reprioritization of disposable income, proliferation of online/social gaming, potentially lower propensity to gamble among younger generations and lowered preparedness for retirement by baby boomers.

In its report, Fitch said casino-themed social games are a net negative for the U.S. regional casino operators because there is “meaningful overlap” between those who gamble online and those who go to gaming sites. Online gambling, along with lotteries and other low-cost alternatives, eat into recreational budgets, the report said.